Traveling an ancient highway in Cambodia's jungle: Sanitsuda Ekachai reflects on the The Living Angkor Road Project
By Jon Fernquest[Introduction|Vocabulary|Article]
[Reading Questions|Answers]
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Writer, editor, and public intellectual Sanitsuda Ekachai traveled along an ancient road from Thailand into Cambodia with a team of archaeologists and scientists over the Asanha Puja Buddhist holiday last week.
In her weekly editorial at the Bangkok Post, which we cover today, she reflects on the experience.
The expedition was a trip for journalists to learn about the Living Angkor Road Project, a project to fill the gaps in knowledge about the ancient Khmer highway from Phimai in Thailand to Angkor:
The main point of this project is to conduct researches into all kinds of road infrastructure (ancient bridges and reservoirs), ancient structure (rest houses, hospitals and capital cities) and human communities settled along the royal road in order to evaluate and preserve of cultural heritage in term of tourist development (Source: Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA))
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At the end, the article also touches upon some of the more universal themes of Buddhism such as the Law of Impermance (anicca) and letting go of self (anatta).
For further reading, check out a guide to the Angkor monuments with beautiful photographs and extensive history and plans and translated from the French. [Freely downloadable]
Read a short description of Angkor Wat from the German APSARA research project.
Photos of art and architecture at Angkor Wat from Wikimedia.
View photos of Bayon from the 1920s.
Select classical works of French Scholarship on Angkor Wat from the French site AEFEK including former head of Thailand's national library in 1918 Georges Coedes.
Read a 1999 interview of Sanitsuda Ekachai by Terry Fredrickson. Sanitsuda Ekachai received the A.H. Boerma journalism award from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations back in 1990-1991:
"Bangkok Post correspondent Sanitsuda Ekachai received the 1990-1991 A.H. Boerma Award. Well known throughout Southeast Asia for her critical and perceptive work on the plight of the region's rural populations, Ms Ekachai received the award in recognition of her extensive writing on the impact of industrialization on agriculture in Thailand, focusing especially on the role of rural women." (Source)
Reading Questions
Here are some questions to guide your reading (See answers at end):1. What kind of trip did the author go on? Who went on this trip? When did they go? Where did they go? How long did the trip last? What did they see?
2. How long is the ancient road from Phimai in Thailand to Angkor in Cambodia?
3. What kind of evidence did the research team begin their search for the road with?
4. What were the new technologies in the Living Angkor Road Project that allowed them to make progress in finding the road?
5. What knowledge about Cambodian history did this project contribute?
6. Have Thailand and Cambodia always cooperated like this on historical sites and projects? Why or why not?
7. When is remote sensing not sufficient to locate the ancient road?
8. If remote sensing from the air is not sufficient, what additional steps can provide evidence of the road's location?
9. What Buddhist lessons do the ancient Khmer ruins and this project provide?
10. How should archaeological ruins, the remnants of past glorious kingdoms, serve our present and help us cope with an uncertain future? (Express your opinion, this is the question asked by the author at the beginning of the essay)
Bangkok Post Article August 02, 2007
COMMENTARYWisdom among the ruins
Sanitsuda Ekachai
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For five days, we hiked the forest strewn with land mines, walked the paddy fields and braved the dirt roads under a scorching sun to see numerous ancient rest stops, hospitals, reservoirs and laterite bridges along the route linking Phimai and Angkor when the Khmer civilisation was at its zenith.
The exact location of this 254km-long ancient route has been identified for the first time by the Living Angkor Road Project supported by Thailand Research Fund.
A collaboration between Thai and Cambodian researchers, the Thai team is led by remote-sensing expert Col Surat Lertlum while the Cambodian team is led by anthropologist Im Sokrithy.
The research started with the clues in the 12th-century Stone Inscription saying that King Jayavarman VII had ordered 17 rest houses built along the Angkor-Phimai royal road.
A study by French scholars a century ago identified most of the rest houses but did not identify the exact route.
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In addition to the missing rest stops, the discovery of ancient bridges helps pinpoint the outline of the royal road as well as locating the connecting point on the Thai-Cambodia border at Chong Ta Muean in Surin province.
Moreover, they have found several ancient industrial sites and communities which could shed more light on the relationships of people along the route, and probably also the rise and fall of the ancient Khmer empire.
This research is yet more proof that we must step beyond our comfort zones to connect with other fields of expertise in order to raise our plane of knowledge.
When relations between Thai and Cambodia are often strained by ultranationalism and conflicts over ownership of archaeological sites, it is refreshing to see how the researchers' sheer dedication to knowledge can free them from nationalism, another form of egotism.
Equally refreshing is their respect for the local villagers' knowledge. Where the ancient sites are covered by forests or modern roads, the advanced technology of remote sensing can identify only the broad area, needing ground surveys, said Col Surat.
Without the local legends linking the ancient royal road and the villagers' knowledge of their areas, the research teams could not possibly have found the missing rest houses nor established the outline of the Angkor-Phimai ancient route, he added.
These villagers are struggling with harsh poverty, which is a world apart from the modern luxury in Siem Reap. Things are changing there.
At the Bayon Temple, however, the bas-reliefs depicting the lives of little people show us that for the peasants, their life has not changed much from 800 years ago.
As these villagers happily sang and danced their way to their temples to celebrate Asalaha Bucha and Buddhist Lent, I couldn't help wonder if this royal road project could give our countries more than tourism potential.
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The multi-disciplinary approach and the researchers' no to ultranationalism is also in line with the Buddha's teachings on letting go of self to attain peace and truth.
Our world is rocked with violence from racist nationalism, environmental destruction from insatiable greed and political instability from ego clashes.
If archaeological ruins can remind us of the law of impermanence to reduce our greed and ego, they will best serve our present.
If so, we will not have to worry about the future.
Sanitsuda Ekachai is Assistant Editor (Outlook), Bangkok Post.
Email: sanitsudae@bangkokpost.co.th
Vocabulary (in discussion above)
Sanitsuda Ekachai - author of this article, editor and frequent author at the Bangkok Post, public intellectual publishing on social issues and the Buddhist religion
an intellectual - someone who spends a lot of time studying and thinking about complicated ideas (See Wikipedia)
a public intellectual - an intellectual with a large public audience, addressing issues of general concern (check out a list of well-known public intellectuals worldwide)
ruins, archaeological ruins - the few parts of old buildings that still exist, long after most of it has been destroyed long ago in the past
remnants of x - parts of x still existing
Asalaha Bucha holiday - holiday commemorating the Buddha’s first sermon and the founding of the sangha of Buddhist monks (See Wikipedia on Asalaha Bucha or Asanha Puja and List of Public Holidays in Thailand)
Wan Kao Pansa - the first day of Buddhist Lent
Buddhist Lent, Vassa - called Rains Retreat, is the traditional retreat during the rainy season lasting for three lunar months from July to October. During this time Buddhist monks remain in a single place, generally in their temples. In some monasteries, monks dedicate the Vassa to intensive meditation practice. During Vassa, many Buddhist lay people reinvigorate their spiritual training and adopt more ascetic practices, such as giving up meat, alcohol, or smoking (Vassa is sometimes known as "Buddhist Lent"). And in countries such as Thailand, the laity will often take monastic vows for the Vassa period and then return to lay life (See Wikipedia)
a press trip - a special trip arranged for journalists to provide them with information so they can write articles about something
strewn - lie scattered about
a land mine - a bomb hidden in the ground that explodes when accidentally stepped on (See Wikipedia on landmines and landmines in Cambodia)
strewn with land mines - land mines lie scattered about
ancient rest stops - places where people stopped and rested along the road in ancient times
laterite - "Laterite was well known in Asian countries as a building material for more than 1000 years. It was excavated from the soil and cut in form of large blocks; temples at Angkor are famous examples for this early use." (See Introduction to Laterite and a photo)
Khmer - the name of the people living in Cambodia and their ancient culture (See Wikipedia on Khmer people)
Khmer civilisation - (See Wikipedia on Khmer Empire)
at its zenith - at its peak, time of greatest success
Angkor-Phimai royal road - (See Wikipedia on Ancient Khmer Highway)
Angkor - the region of Cambodia that was the center of the ancient Khmer empire (See Wikipedia on Angkor and a list of historical sites)
Phimai - one of the most important Khmer temples in Thailand, located in Phimai, Nakhon Ratchasima province, one end of an ancient Cambodian highway from Angkor (See Wikipedia and computer reconstruction of ancient temple site)
Living Angkor Road Project - a project to fill the gaps in knowledge about the ancient Khmer highway from Phimai in Thailand to Angkor, the subject of this article (See website)
Thailand Research Fund - a fund that sponsors academic projects and joint ventures with foreign scholars in Thailand (See website)
Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA) -
collaboration - when a group of people cooperate and work together toward a common goal (See Wikipedia)
remote-sensing - using photographs from satellites and airplanes to view and study the earth, often used to find historical sites for archaeological work, heat and radiation patterns often reveal clues (See Wikipedia)
Col Surat Lertlum - Thai remote sensing expert working on the project
Im Sokrithy - Cambodian anthropologist working on the project
clues - evidence, facts that help you solve a mystery, a crime case, or other problem
stone inscriptions - writing carved into stone (See Wikipedia on epigraphy and a list of inscriptions)
geographical information system (GIS) - computer software for making maps (See Wikipedia on GIS)
missing links - intermediate steps in an argument or theory (often used to refer to transitional fossils that show steps in the evolution between ape and man or from tiny horses to larger horses)
pinpoint - find
an outline of x - the general shape of
pinpoint the outline of - find the general shape of
shed more light on - increase knowledge of
our comfort zones - the range of thinking and acting that we are comfortable with (for example, if I mention that the chicken you're eating was tortured before she died, you might feel uncomfortable and not want to eat your chicken anymore)
step beyond our comfort zones - think seriously about things, even though it makes us uncomfortable to do so
a plane - a flat level surface
on a higher plane - more spiritual (less concerned with everyday ordinary things)
a plane of knowledge - a level of knowledge
raise our plane of knowledge - go to a higher more spiritual level of knowledge
ultra - extreme
nationalism - love of one's country, sometimes means thinking your country is better than other countries (See Wikipedia)
ultranationalism - extreme nationalism
sheer - pure and complete, not mixed with anything else
dedication to x - given a lot of time and effort to x
sheer dedication - complete dedication
ego - a person's sense of their own worth or value
has a large ego - the person thinks they are very important and valuable
is an egomaniac, has a massive ego - someone who thinks only of themselves, does not care if they harm others
egotism - behaving as if you are more important than other people
a clash - a fight, a conflict
ego clashes - two people who think they are very important try to dominate each other
Examples of people with large egos:
alpha males, beta males - the Alpha male is the top-ranking animal in a social group, usually with quite a massive ego, the Beta male is the contender subservient to the alpha male but only after testing him, acting as second-in-command and can either be dethroned alpha males or future alphas if they persist in challenging the regnant alpha male, very common in some work situations (See Wikipedia on alpha male and alpha)
type A personalities - being impatient, excessively time-conscious, insecure about one's status, projecting your ego all the time, highly competitive, hostile and aggressive, and incapable of relaxation, often high achieving workaholics who multi-task and who actually suffer from low self-esteem, though you'd never know it from all the ego clashes they get into (See Wikipedia)
letting go of self - [Pali: anatta] non-self or absence of separate self, self is actually an agglomeration of constantly changing physical and mental constituents or "skandhas", one of the three Buddhist marks of existence (anicca - impermanence, dhukka - suffering, anatta - non-self) (See Schopenhauer and Buddhism)
Law of Impermanence - [Pali: anicca] the term expresses the Buddhist notion that everything, without exception, is constantly in flux, even planets, stars and gods. Human life embodies this flux in the aging process, the cycle of birth and rebirth (samsara), and in any experience of loss. Because things are impermanent, attachment to them is futile, and leads to suffering. The only true end of impermanence is nirvana, the one reality that knows no change, decay or death, one of the three Buddhist marks of existence (anicca - impermanence, dhukka - suffering, anatta - non-self) (See Wikipedia on Impermanence in Buddhism)
insatiable - cannot be satisfied (for example, my Mercedes Benz is not enough, I need a Rolls Royce too, and after that a 747, bigger and better, forever...)
greed - [Pali: lobha] the desire to have more than you need especially money (See Wikipedia on Kilesa, mental states that cloud the mind)
insatiable greed - a desire to have more and more and more that is never satisfied
legends - old popular stories (that are sometimes true) (See Wikipedia on legends, list of legends, and my favorite Ancient Egyptian legends such as the Story of Sinuhe and the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor)
Bayon Temple - a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in Cambodia, built in the late 12th century or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom, with massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak, and two sets of bas-reliefs which combine mythology, history, and scenes of everyday life (See Wikipedia)
bas-reliefs - sculpture carved so that shapes stand out from background (See Wikipedia and example)
x attests to y - x proves that y is true
a discipline - a specialised area of study in a university (for example, mathematics, philosophy, history, food technology, criminology, or aerospace engineering)
multi-disciplinary approach - studying a problem from many different perspectives, going beyond the limitations of any one discipline (for example, some economists think that money is the measure of everything)
Answer Key:
1. What kind of trip did the author go on? Who went on this trip? When did they go? Where did they go? How long did the trip last? What did they see?
The author went on a "press trip" with other journalists over the Asalaha Bucha and Buddhist Lent holiday
For five days they explored the ancient Phimai-Angkor road between modern-day Thailand and Cambodia, through a combination of hiking and traveling by vehicle over dirt roads.
They say ancient ruins, ancient rest stops, ancient bridges, hospitals, reservoirs.
2. How long is the ancient road from Phimai in Thailand to Angkor in Cambodia?
245 kilometers.
3. What kind of evidence did the research team begin their search for the road with?
a. An ancient inscription provided a clue that the Khmer King Jayavarman VII had ordered 17 rest houses built along the road.
b. An old French study identified some rest houses along the route but not the route itself.
4. What were the new technologies in the Living Angkor Road Project that allowed them to make progress in finding the road?
a. Remote sensing
b. Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
5. What knowledge about Cambodian history did this project contribute?
a. Location of missing rest stops along the road.
b. Location of ancient bridges.
c. An outline of the shape of the ancient road
d. Locating the intersection point of the road with the Thai-Cambodia border.
e. Location of ancient industrial sites
f. Location of ancient communities.
g. Relationships of people along the ancient road.
h. The rise and fall of the ancient Khmer empire.
6. Have Thailand and Cambodia always cooperated like this on historical sites and projects? Why or why not?
No, there have been conflicts in the past between the two countries over archaeological sites. In the past, nationalism prevented scholars from cooperating like this.
7. When is remote sensing not sufficient to locate the ancient road?
Remote sensing is not sufficient when ancient sites are covered by forests or modern roads.
8. If remote sensing from the air is not sufficient, what additional steps can provide evidence of the road's location?
If remote sensing is not sufficient, then ground surveys are necessary and legends of local villagers can provide clues to he ancient road's location.
9. What Buddhist lessons do the ancient Khmer ruins and this project provide?
a. The life of peasants has not changed all that much from 800 years ago.
b. Villagers celebrated the same holidays as we do now, such as Asalaha Bucha and Buddhist Lent.
c. The road and ruins are proof of the law of impermanence since many different peoples with many different religions have used them over time.
e. Letting go of self is exemplified in: i. the multi-disciplinary approach of the project, ii. the researchers' rejection of ultra-nationalism.
10. How should archaeological ruins, the remnants of past glorious kingdoms, serve our present and help us cope with an uncertain future? (Express your opinion, this is the question asked by the author at the beginning of the essay)
